Locke High School in the Watts area of Los Angeles is making news not because of poor performance or school violence, but because the school’s teachers have voted to secede from L.A.’s Unified School District. Says the LA Times: Three cheers for its courageous teachers and stalwart principal, who have chosen to break with the…
Category: Education
America Competes Act (Farce?)
The U.S. Senate recently passed, with no discernible fanfare whatsoever, a bill entitled the America Competes Act. According to EdNews.org: the bill would increase research investment by: • Doubling funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) from approximately $5.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2006 to $11.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2011. • Setting the Department…
Fixing No Child Left Behind
George Bush’s most positive contribution to American society may be the No Child Left Behind Act. This is not saying much given that NCLB is a train wreck that one simply can’t look away from. I mean that quite literally – we can’t look away. We can’t afford to. Most Americans have absolutely no choice…
Teachers and Pay
Ask virtually any teacher whether they are paid enough for the work they do and you’ll get the same answer. “No!” Is that true? Teachers are represented by unions, organizations that exist for the purpose of raising wages and improving working conditions. So why do teachers feel they are getting short-changed? On the surface of…
RE: Closed pension loophole could still cost us billions
Michael Hedges says that Texas teachers ripped off Social Security. I wrote this in response. Think they’ll print it? Michael Hedges says that teachers ripped off Social Security. But what does he say about the systemic injustice that denies teachers, mostly women, who toiled for years at sub-market wages, the benefits of their SPOUSE’S Social…
Lost Boys
Debbie Schlussel says that only 43% of college students are male these days. It’s kind of obvious why. Women are pushed to succeed–with discriminatory, sexist scholarships, affirmative action, and any number of other programs deeming them an “under-represented” minority, when with 57% of the student body, they are anything but. Then, there are the cultural…
Self Esteem: the Gift that Stunts Growth
Polimom says that she’s worried about her daughter and whether she’s been given too much self-esteem. She says: It’s not just the parents, and it’s not just schools or academics, either. If your kid has ever been on a non-scholastic youth sports team (out here in Katy, soccer comes to mind…), you’ll recognize this: Since…
Schools’ Accountability
There’s been a vigorous debate about accountability in our schools and in it there’s almost always a tacit assumption that the physical safety of the children need not be discussed, that it’s been taken care of. However, one need not think too hard about that assumption to see that it is false, as in this…
Free Speech on Campus
Do you think America’s campuses are places where young people are encouraged to think hard thoughts and engage in challenging debates with their peers? Think again. Follow Jason Steck’s link to John Leo’s essay exposing our universities for what they are: intellectual frauds. Update, 2/9/2007 It didn’t take long to find another institution of higher…
Every Child Left Behind
I love the federal laws Congress passes: they always have such vivid, meaningful names, names that simply scream, “If you don’t support me you must be a ______”. Just let your imagination fill in the blank. The Patriot Act? You’ve got to be for that. No Child Left Behind? Only the grinch or a Islamic…